He'll see Jason Taylor, KGB, Simeon Rice, Mike Rucker, and Alex B rown the rest of the year, so he'll have his hands full.

If Shaffer continues to perform at this level, do you think the Falcons should give him a long term contract? Should they let him walk after the season? I think the big tests will come against Taylor in 2 weeks, Rice, and Rucker. If he can play well against those guys, then I think the Falcons should sign him.

I think in the view of McKay & Co. if Shaffer even looked servicable he was going to get a long term extension. But now he has looked like at least a short term solution and he'll be cheap. I don't see Atlanta letting Shaffer walk.

I think Shaffer has done a fine job until now and he should be given an extention. He will not get the same huge $ that other LTs draw because of where he was drafted, but he might just do as well as some of those other high-paid guys. I think we might have to consider releasing Weiner and getting a replacement at RT. Same goes for McClure. Not that I don't believe they have done a good job. I just think they are going to start showing the signs of their increase in years soon. It will be good to get some younger blood on the line soon even though this group is gelling so well right now.

Dunn, McClure, Weiner, and these other guys need to be kept around if we can do it somewhat cheaply. If something ain't broke don't try to fix it. Our whole line deserves credit for the job they have done this year, but Schaeffer will earn my respect if he holds Rice to 1 sack or less. He has done a wonderful job thus far though.

I think the Jets game proved that changing centers abruptly can really hurt a team. Now, I know McClure is not the same caliber player as Mawae, but in the zone blocking scheme, continuity at the center position is important. The Jets found that out this year with their move to the zone blocking scheme with Mawae's injury. Tom Nalen has been the starter in Denver ever since Gibbs arrived, and well after he left. This might be Nalen's last season there, and if that's the case Ben Hamilton is tapped to take over for him. But he's been being groomed for that takeover for several years (probably since 2001 when he was drafted).

So I'm all for replacing McClure, but only with a guy that beats him out. I hope that player is Matt Lehr. But I'm not going to just hand him the job. I think our own OL struggles in the past have shown that it usually doesn't end well when you just take people's jobs away without any real competition for them.

I'd like to see us add a quality LG either in free agency or the draft this off-season and then move Lehr to C to compete with McClure.

I'd agree that maybe Weiner needs to be replaced. He needs to restructure his contract after the year.

This is my ultimate scenario for the OL, so it's probably not all going to workout or necessarily be the best for the team. I would like to see them draft Jonathan Scott and Mark Setterstrom. Let them have some time (perhaps one year) to learn the system, and then release McClure and Weiner. Plug Lehr in at C, Setterstrom at LG, and Scott at RT to protect Vick's blind side. That would help strengthen our line in terms of depth for next season and provide time for the newbies to get acclimated in the system before taking over. If by some chance they pick things up and are ready to contribute next year, then McClure and Weiner can be cut earlier. Forney, Lehr, and Shaffer are still young enough that we don't have to do anything with them right away.

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